Federal Register: March 21, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 55)
Notices
Page 13589-13590
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access wais.access.gpo.gov
DOCID:fr21mr97-37
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Docket No. 97-024N
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Drug Administration
Docket No. 97N-0074
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
President's National Food Safety Initiative
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA; Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, HHS; Food and
Page 13590
Drug Administration, HHS; Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice: Public meeting; establishment of public dockets.
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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Research, Education, and
Economics; The Department of Health and Human Services'' Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC); and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will convene a
meeting on March 31 to April 2, 1997, to discuss and develop for the
President a comprehensive plan to reduce the annual incidence of
foodborne illness by enhancing the safety of the nation's food supply.
USDA and FDA are also establishing public dockets to receive comments
about the President's Food Safety Initiative and the discussion draft
and current thinking document made available on February 21, 1997.
DATES: The meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 7:00
p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on March 31; 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on April 1; and
from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on April 2, 1997. Comments by April 4,
1997.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on
Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the meeting, contact
Ms.Traci Phebus at (202) 501-7138, FAX (202) 501-7642, E-mail
HACCP.Confer@USDA.GOV. Participants may reserve a 5-minute public
comment period when they register. Space will be allocated on a first
come, first served basis. Participants should also select the breakout
sessions they plan to attend when they register. For questions about
the meeting or to obtain copies of the draft report, ``Food Safety From
Farm to Table: A New Strategy for the 21st Century, Discussion Draft
and Current Thinking, A National Food Safety Initiative,'' contact Mr.
Charles Danner, FSIS, at (202) 501-7136 or Ms. Karen Carson, FDA, at
(202) 205-5140. Copies of the draft report also are available from the
following: FSIS at http://www.usda.gov/fsis or FDA at http://
vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html or CDC at http://cdc.gov/ncidod/food.htm.
Participants who require a sign language interpreter or other special
accommodations should contact Ms. Jennifer Callahan at (202) 501-7138
by March 24.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 25, 1997, the President directed
the Secretaries of USDA and HHS and the Administrator of EPA to work
with consumers, producers, industry, States, Tribes, universities, and
the public to identify ways to further improve the safety of our food
supply. The President requested that the plan focus on ``* * * further
improvement of surveillance, inspection, research, risk assessment,
education, and coordination among local, State, and Federal health
authorities.''
On March 5, 1997, the first public meeting was held to discuss the
initiative and the issues identified by food safety experts in the
draft report. All attendees received a copy of the draft report and
were encouraged to review the document and develop recommendations
related to the seven topic areas: surveillance, risk assessment,
research, inspection, education, and coordination, and strategic
planning to be presented at the March 31 meeting.
The March 31 session will feature a general session with time
allotted for public comment followed by concurrent breakout sessions:
Bioscience Research and Coordination; and an evening session on
Strategic Planning. On April 1, concurrent breakout sessions will be
held in the morning on Improving Risk Assessment Tools and Improving
Food Safety Education and in the afternoon on New Early Warning System
for Foodborne Illness and Maximizing Inspection to Support HACCP. The
April 2 session will include reports from each of the seven breakout
sessions and public comment.
The agencies are also announcing the establishment of public
dockets about the President's Food Safety Initiative and the discussion
draft and current thinking docket made available on February 21, 1997
and are encouraging individuals to comment on the topics discussed at
the March 5, 1997, meeting as well as those listed in this notice under
Supplementary Information. The agencies are also urging individuals
with comments on the seven topic areas of the draft report to submit
these comments by March 28 to facilitate discussion in the breakout
sessions. Submit written comments as follows: USDA/FSIS Hearing Clerk,
Room 3806 South Building, Washington, DC 20250-3700 or Dockets
Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 12420
Parklawn Drive, Room 1-23, Rockville, MD 20857. Comments are to be
identified with the docket number. For those comments directed to USDA
use Docket No. 97-024N; for comments directed to FDA, use Docket No.
97N-0074.
Transcripts of the public meeting may be requested in writing from
the Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857,
approximately 15 working days after the meeting at a cost of 10 cents
per page. The transcript of the public meeting and all submitted
comments will be available for public examination at the Dockets
Management Branch (address above) between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday.
Done at Washington, DC, on March 17, 1997.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator, Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Fred R. Shank,
Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug
Administration.
Donald E. Shriber,
Associate Director/Washington, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Dana Minerva,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water, Environmental Protection
Agency.
FR Doc. 97-7155 Filed 3-18-97; 9:53 am
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